Business leaders and executives, focusing closely on short-term business goals and immediate priorities, can easily lose sight of a vital long-term objective. I’m not talking about 5-year or 10-year plans to build revenue or improve profit margins. Rather, in my experience, I’ve found that business owners, leaders and top executives share a deep desire to leave a legacy.
I’m sure you can think of several examples of people in the spring industry who have created enduring legacies, which have benefited their companies and their industry.
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The legacy we leave behind is the imprint that lasts after we’ve retired or moved on. It is the lasting impact that we’ve had on others throughout our careers. For the business owner, whose name is intertwined with the company, legacy also reflects the corporate culture and the perception of the company in the business arena and the community. (I’m sure you can think of several examples of people in the spring industry who have created enduring legacies, which have benefited their companies and their industry.)
If you haven’t thought about the legacy that you’re building today, isn’t it time you began contemplating it?
Your Legacy Does Serve a Pragmatic Purpose
As the corporate leader, the example you set in your words and actions influences the way business is done, how employees conduct themselves, and how they treat customers and each other. However, there is a deeper, philosophic purpose as well: Building a legacy brings greater meaning and purpose to what you do every day. When you see your professional career as more than a money-generating enterprise, you begin to grasp how you can make a difference among employees, colleagues, the community and society at large. This brings far greater satisfaction than social standing or material possessions.
Legacy is tightly linked with the corporate culture that you influence, and the values and standards that you set and reinforce with your own behaviors.
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Years ago, I read an article in the September 20, 1991, issue of Bottom Line Personal, the message of which remains with me to this day. The article described the findings of Dr. Gerald Kushel, an author and motivational speaker, who categorized people’s lives according to their successful careers, satisfying work, and rich personal lives. All of the 1,200 people he studied – from executives to blue-collar workers – had achieved success. But that success was often one-dimensional. For example, he found that 15 percent of those individuals did not enjoy either their jobs or their personal lives – even though they were considered to be successful. Another 80 percent enjoyed their work, but their personal lives were not satisfying. Only five percent enjoyed their work and their personal lives, thus achieving success on all levels.
By this measure, how successful are you? While you may enjoy financial rewards and a comfortable lifestyle, are you achieving the maximum fulfillment from your life? Without a sense of purpose, your achievements will seem less than satisfying. Your success will be measured only on one level, and the legacy you are building will be limited.
Building Your Legacy Today
Focusing on your legacy doesn’t begin when you make your retirement plans. It is part of your leadership today. It is the essence of what Stephen Covey calls “beginning with the end in mind.” While few of us start our careers thinking about the impact we will make over the next 20, 30 or 40 years, a legacy – like a reputation – is built carefully and skillfully over time.
For today’s business leader or owner, this legacy is tightly linked with the corporate culture that you influence, and the values and standards that you set and reinforce with your own behaviors, actions and attitudes. Consider the following questions:
• What values and standards does your organization embrace? Are they articulated in a mission statement that is communicated to all members of the organization, from the top down? Or is your mission statement merely a piece of paper on the wall?
• How do you embody the mission, values and standards of your organization? As a leader, your actions carry far more impact than your words. Your company, for example, may say, “Our people are our greatest asset,” but is that value exemplified by your words and actions?
• Have the managers and employees at your company emulated the mission, values and standards that you set? Do they reflect positively the corporate culture in their actions, how they treat customers, their interactions with each other, the way they communicate, and even how they dress?
• Have you taken the time and opportunity to be a mentor to others? Have you extended yourself not only to your direct reports, but also to other employees? Knowing that you’ve made a difference in the lives of those around you will bring far more meaning and purpose to your life.
A Life Well Lived
Finding greater purpose and meaning in our lives transcends job titles and socio-economic standards. In fact, I believe that the need for a deeper context for what we do every day is a basic human longing, which underscores our need for interpersonal connections.
Corporate leaders, business owners and top executives are uniquely positioned to reach this goal because of their breadth of experience, their position of influence and, quite frankly, their job titles that do command respect. I’m always awed when I meet someone who has achieved a level of financial or professional success who strives to make an impact on others. Many of these people express it as a desire to “give back” in gratitude for what they have achieved.
A few years ago, I was asked to give a keynote address to a group of top sales executives. These individuals were at the top of their careers. They were highly successful and extremely well paid. What could I possibly say to them to motivate these top-performing individuals? To prepare for my presentation, I interviewed each of these executives, wanting to know what was a driving force for them now that they had reached virtually every professional goal they had set for themselves. Each of them echoed the same sentiment: They wanted to make a difference by mentoring and helping others who were starting out on their career paths. It wasn’t enough to have achieved their professional success; they wanted to share with others from their experience in order to give their accomplishments greater meaning.
My challenge to you is to ask yourself, what is your legacy? What values and standards have you communicated to your staff that they carry out into the business world? What lasting impact are you making today, which will continue to influence the company far into the future?
Think about the legacy you wish to leave your industry/company even if you have no intention of departing now – or 20 years from now. Living and working with a desired end-goal in mind, you will become more thoughtful in your actions, more purposeful in your communication and more attuned to the meaning of what you do.
Roz Usheroff is an image and communication specialist, and principal of The Usheroff Institute Inc. She has presented seminars and keynote programs, and conducted one-on-one executive coaching for Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs and leading organizations. Readers may contact her by phone at (800) 844-2206 or Web site at www.usheroff.com.
